Business Optimisation: The Power of Real Time Business Data

It is sometimes difficult to describe the full impact digital technologies could have on small and medium sized businesses in the UK. All too often ‘digital transformation’ can be perceived as some kind of idealistic goal, rather than a strategic decision. Or smaller companies may believe that this kind of change is financially ‘out of reach’.

Yet, the cost of entry has never been lower and, when executed correctly, it provides significant benefits which can make any businesses thrive.

Let’s look at the potential of digital transformation, by first looking at the expressed aims of the modern business leader. They want:

Key business data at their fingertips: not just general marketing information and financials, but all the information in the middle that affects the outcomes: source of business, conversions, sales funnel, retentions and repeat purchasers

Current information to hand: ideally realtime and, if not today, then this week, this month, this quarter. Ideally presented in ‘dashboard’ type of view rather than emails and spreadsheets to be compiled

Accurate projections: to be able to view what the expected position will be, not just by multiplying financials, but by projecting the entire sales funnel

Automated alerts: to be able to setup triggers and alerts as an ‘early warning system’, setting up queries of the information available to spot anomalies and areas of concern

The ability to action change: to be able to not only understand what is or isn’t working, but also to be able to identify to factors affecting the numbers, and the ability to implement change

The only way in which to convert this wish-list into reality is to invest in digital transformation, not just adopting one system (for example a CRM) but joining up different discrete elements so they can work together – marketing, digital services, accounts, finance and operations.

Putting it another way, the future business leader wants a business where there is not just more feedback, but also greater control – so they can get ‘hands on’ with the business, adapting and refining their model based on the data being presented to them.

We believe that Omny Link is uniquely placed to help companies achieve this transformation in the most effective way.

The first stage of transformation

Every business needs to review the software needed to manage data across their business. When it comes to giving this full consideration, it is useful to compile a list of software requirements breaking it down by business unit. So, for example it could look something like this:

Sales and Marketing: Website, App, CRM, Customer Service

Operations: Stock Management, Pricing, Distribution

Finance: Accounting, Bookkeeping

Admin / Storage: Data Warehousing, Telecoms, Email / Domain Names

Reporting: KPIs, Current Management Reports

Once this has been done, then it is useful to review the list you have in more detail checking:

Where there are software gaps – where solution(s) are needed to fill gaps

Where the software is outdated – if you are using a desktop-based solution or one that will not allow importing or exporting easily (ideally through an API) the chances are that it will limit your ambitions and may need replacing

Where the software is effective – where your current solution works for you and is setup for sharing with other systems

Whatever you do, this process is a great starting point to work out your ingredient list for digital transformation.

How to equip to optimise and automate your business

This process doesn’t get us all the way to the eventual goal. If all you do next is to place different pieces of software in different places, you will remain reliant on multiple tabs and spreadsheets with manual collection of information. So transformation will only be part-completed.

To get fully equipped you need to connect up the different softwares used across the discrete areas of business. So that data is shared between them, not just for functional means but two-way for reporting and decision-making and automation.

Which is precisely why we developed our software: it is open source, based on industry standards, and allows businesses to be much more agile and adaptable. It also is built to connect up services with a flexible API, so that users can choose their preferred systems and be empowered to connect them all up together.

Add the power of decisions

The final ingredient which makes Omny Link unique is the built in a decision-making tool that sits at the centre of everything. It is much more than merely ‘marketing automation’ as it looks at all the sources of data and can make decisions across the entire range. Which means we can help businesses in:

Reviewing: to watch the data and pick out anything which needs fuller investigation based on set criteria

Scoring: to judge opportunities and customers based on data from marketing, sales, follow up, finance and operations. This can also compare performance of individuals and departments to optimise

Automating: to allow triggered outcomes based on data queries which can send automatic actions or, alternatively allow a member of staff to review if preferred

Communicating: to send internal or external communications in an ‘omni channel’ way so it could be email, SMS, chat, call – whatever preferred – in order to take positive action on alerts or opportunities

Achieve the most significant competitive advantage at your disposal

A business leader equipped in this way has access to significant competitive advantages which will positively impact the bottom line.

The ability to spot issues before they become concerns, the opportunity to optimise across their business and the power to develop and adapt strategic and tactical plans in a much more agile fashion.

If you want to explore business optimisation and connect up your company, then contact us or call the team on 0118 324 7700.